Xerox names president for key business

Robert Zapfel, also named as an executive vice president, is to join the company April 1. He succeeds Lynn Blodgett, who is slated to retire at the end of 2014. Blodgett will continue with the company as corporate executive vice president assisting with the leadership transition, the company said.

Zapfel will report to Ursula Burns, Xerox chairman and CEO.

“Bob Zapfel brings to Xerox extensive experience in global services with an emphasis on transforming complex operations to customer-focused, profitable and sustaining businesses,” Burns said in a statement.

Zapfel is a 35-year veteran of IBM Corp. who helped guide the transformation of that company’s services business to a profitable model. He left IBM in 2013.

Over two decades at IBM, Zapfel held a host of senior leadership positions in services, including head of the IBM’s Global Technology Services business for the Americas, head of its 90,000 person strong global delivery organization and head of strategy.

He also ran the travel and transportation and financial services vertical businesses, as well as the services operations in Latin America. In addition, Zapfel ran IBM’s global financing unit. He began his career in Chicago as a sales representative in 1977.

Burns thanked Blodgett for his years on the job. Blodgett joined Xerox as president of the services business in 2010 through the company’s multi-billion-dollar acquisition of Affiliated Computer Services Inc.

Today 55 percent of Xerox’s revenue is generated by its services business. The business is expected to account for two-thirds of the company’s overall revenue by 2017, Xerox reported.